Tales of a country girl from southwest Minnesota

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Seagulls and ships

ï»¿My mom likes seagulls. She likes to watch the seagulls, she likes to feed the seagulls and she likes to watch people feeding the seagulls.

Hungry seagulls in Duluth's Canal Park.

I suppose I kind of like watching the seagulls too, but when one swooped within a foot or two of my head last night in Duluthâ€™s Canal Park, I was wishing I hadnâ€™t been so darn close.

Have you ever seen one of those caps that says, â€œDamn Seagulls!â€ and has puff-paint like splotches of bird droppings all over it?

Well, that vision was in my mind as I peered to my shoulders to make sure I was cleared of any new, unwanted accessories.

You might laugh at that vision, but some poor, unfortunate woman was attacked by a seagull last night for doing something as simple as wanting to eat her popcorn.

Canal Park's Popcorn Wagon.

The woman (my mom went up and talked to her) had plucked a kernel of popcorn from her box and, in the short distance between the box and her mouth, a seagull swooped in and snatched it from her fingers.

I donâ€™t know if it was the same seagull, but the woman received a bit of a souvenir for buying popcorn in Canal Park â€“ a splat of bird poop to the top of her head!

Darn seagulls!

Needless to say, Mom and I did not buy popcorn (although Iâ€™m pretty sure we would have been safe had we purchased it and climbed immediately into our car.)

There is a popcorn wagon in Canal Park that reminded me of the Popcorn Lady who drove her carriage in the Campbellâ€™s Soup parking lot in Worthington years ago. I took a picture of the popcorn wagon, and getting as close as I did for the photo, those darn seagulls started squawking.

Departing the Twin Ports, 9:15 p.m.

In Duluth early for my final session of the U-Lead Advisory Academy, Mom and I spent a few hours in Canal Park Monday night, and were lucky enough to see a huge ship filled with grain depart from the Twin Ports and steer into the vast waters of Lake Superior.

The Canal is one of my favorite stops along the North Shore. There are great walking paths, lots of beautiful scenery and â€¦ lighthouses.

Duluth's Lighthouse.

But if you visit, watch out for the seagulls â€¦ and be willing to share your popcorn!